Classic Rock Songs I Can Still Listen To
Back before it was called classic rock, it was just songs that the radio played over and over. I must have heard "Radar Love" 500 times between ninth grade and the time I graduated college. And I got sick of almost all of them. But you can't kill a really good song, so I still listen to these when I come across them.
1. Cream "Crossroads" (The live version from Wheels of Fire). The musicians in Cream were good, but when they tried to inject psychedelia into their music, or play 16 minute drum solos, they sucked. "Crossroads" is great because all they do is play.
2. Jimi Hendrix Experience "All Along the Watchtower". He didn't write it, but he sure got to the heart of the matter. This song was cover by lots of artists, and they all play Jimi's version.
3. Blue Oyster Cult "Burning For You". There is just something about this song that appeals to people that like punk music. I don't know why. What I do know is plenty of people that ignore classic rock but love this song. I once read a book by a female punk fan who said on her college radio show she played only punk, and "Burning For You", so I know it's not just me.
4. The Doors "Wishful Sinful". Although Morrison is in full messianic wail (groan), the lush string and horn arrangements make all of The Soft Parade strangely compelling.
5. The Rolling Stones "Monkey Man". Every time some DJ would play "You Can't Always Get What You Want", I wondered why he wasn't playing this Stones song that was half as long and a hundred times better.
6. Ted Nugent "Free For All". He just finds a good groove and sticks with it. And, thankfully, not for a "Stranglehold"-like 8 minutes.
1. Cream "Crossroads" (The live version from Wheels of Fire). The musicians in Cream were good, but when they tried to inject psychedelia into their music, or play 16 minute drum solos, they sucked. "Crossroads" is great because all they do is play.
2. Jimi Hendrix Experience "All Along the Watchtower". He didn't write it, but he sure got to the heart of the matter. This song was cover by lots of artists, and they all play Jimi's version.
3. Blue Oyster Cult "Burning For You". There is just something about this song that appeals to people that like punk music. I don't know why. What I do know is plenty of people that ignore classic rock but love this song. I once read a book by a female punk fan who said on her college radio show she played only punk, and "Burning For You", so I know it's not just me.
4. The Doors "Wishful Sinful". Although Morrison is in full messianic wail (groan), the lush string and horn arrangements make all of The Soft Parade strangely compelling.
5. The Rolling Stones "Monkey Man". Every time some DJ would play "You Can't Always Get What You Want", I wondered why he wasn't playing this Stones song that was half as long and a hundred times better.
6. Ted Nugent "Free For All". He just finds a good groove and sticks with it. And, thankfully, not for a "Stranglehold"-like 8 minutes.
posted by Beukey @ 5:29 PM
4 Comments:
At 8:21 AM,
David said…
I'm with you on "Monkey Man" and would add the Stones' "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" to the pantheon. I'd pick "Crosstown Traffic" over "Watchtower" and "Peace Frog" over "Wishful Sinful", but that's probably because I prefer uptempo across the board.
Although I never hear it on radio anymore, I'd throw in Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone", not to be confused with the Kelly Clarkson hit.
Beuk, is there a Led Zep song you can still get behind?
At 2:37 PM,
Anonymous said…
#3 and #5 I still love; I have to be in the right mood for ANY Hendrix. I still like J/A's "White Rabbit", Doors "LA Woman" (acutally, I can still listen to most of The Doors x-cept Light My Fire)Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", and STYX "Madame Blue"(even though I'm NOT a Styx fan at all).
Songs that should be deleted from this earth: BTO-Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet, most Lynyrd Skynyrd (ESPECIALLY "Freebird" and "Three Steps"), Deep Purple-"Smoke on the Water"--that's all I can think of at this moment, but if I wasn't occupied here at work, I could make this list EXCRUTIATINGLY LONGER!!!! BTW, have you heard the punk version of Cash's "Ring of Fire"? A friend lent me a CD he burned and I heard it. Forgot to ask him who it was!
At 3:20 PM,
Bluey said…
Interesting subject. I am also burnt out on just about everything classic rock and overplayed.
I'd go with Hendrix's "Little Wing" but either Stevie Ray Vaughn or Sting's versions.
I love "Wishful Sinful". That whole Doors' Soft Parade album is timeless.
Led Zep is so overplayed they're starting to give me cancer, but I am still a huge fan of "Since I've Been Loving You".
The other tunes I would add to the list are as follows and in no particular order:
"Journey To The Center Of The Mind"
Amboy Dukes (Nugent on guitar)
"Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" The Hollies. Hard to believe nobody has covered it.
"Black Sabbath" Black Sabbath, this song to me represents the first metal song ever written. It still sends chills down my spine.
"Jungleland" Bruce Springsteen
although you could probably trash almost all the rest of his stuff.
"Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" Traffic and pretty much anything off of the "Shootout At The Fantasy Factory" album.
I'm sure there are others but those are the ones off the top of my head.
Feel free to burn the whole Beatles and Rolling Stones collection.
At 5:08 AM,
Beukey said…
Funny that Bluey should mentions Zep's "Since I've Been Loving You" since that was going to be my answer to David's question.
I have an Amboy Dukes greatest hits CD. It is actually pretty good, especially the early stuff that had a garage band element to it. There is one lost classic on there, a song called "You Talk Sunshine, I Breathe Fire" that I never heard on the radio. I think it was released only as an A-side single, only rescued when CD's came to be.
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